The chart above shows just how much national wealth depends on the national IQ. A huge 54 percent of the GDP (income per person) difference among nations can be explained by the average IQ in those countries. Reading the 2002

The authors who developed this nations' IQ list are well respected. One of them, Lynn, first documented the "Flynn-Lynn effect" - that raw IQ scores have been increasing 2-3 points per decade. Thus he certainly was able to relate and compare the many national IQ studies to each other. The reasons for the national IQ differences, as well as for the Lynn effect, are not well understood. But their impact on a nation's wealth are not much in doubt. One starting point for understanding are the current

social skills (SQ) and ambition play major roles in economic success. But what is true for an individual is obviously not the case for nations, or large groups of individuals. For example, average SQ scores show almost no differences among racial groups. But average IQ scores among racial groups vary considerably, as documented in The Bell Curve. The result is that social skills, which are so important in individual success, have no net impact at the national level. Of course, individual scores for both SQ and IQ vary widely.

Ambition, on the other hand, may play a role in national success. In his

Jobs/ Ambition survey, SQ author Sloan did not notice any differences attributable to ethnicity. But cultural differences and lack of exposure to opportunities in the Third World might make Ambition a measurable difference among nations. It is unlikely that the Ambition/ self-skills portion of Goleman's EI is as important at a national level as it is on an individual level. But it could be a factor, like a market economy or lack of corruption in a society.